KEY POINTS
- SERAP has sued the CBN, alleging it failed to account for about ₦3 trillion in public funds flagged by the Auditor-General.
- The lawsuit asks the court to compel the bank to explain the funds’ whereabouts and provide detailed spending records.
- Audit findings cited include unremitted revenue, payments to unknown beneficiaries, and questionable contracts and expenditures.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has filed a lawsuit against the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, accusing the apex bank of failing to properly account for about ₦3 trillion in public funds.
The legal action follows allegations contained in the latest annual report released on September 9, 2025, by the Auditor-General of the Federation, which raised concerns over unremitted revenues, questionable expenditures, and unrecovered funds linked to government programmes.
According to SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the suit was filed last week at the Federal High Court, Abuja division, under case number FHC/ABJ/CS/250/2026.
The organization is asking the court to issue an order of mandamus compelling the CBN to explain the whereabouts of the allegedly missing funds and provide detailed records of how they were spent.
The case was instituted by lawyers Oluwakemi Agunbiade and Valentina Adegoke, acting on behalf of SERAP.
Allegations of Unremitted Revenue and Unknown Beneficiaries
The Auditor-General’s report alleged that in 2022, the CBN failed to remit more than ₦1.4 trillion of the Federal Government’s share of operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The report warned that the funds might have been diverted and recommended recovery and remittance to the national treasury.
It also claimed the bank did not recover over ₦629 billion paid to “unknown beneficiaries” under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, an initiative intended to support farmers and boost food production. The audit noted that even the identities of recipients were unclear, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.
